
	Platform PC Genre RTS Developer Westwood Publisher Virgin Interactive Year Released 1992
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Dune II

dune ii dune ii

Dune II is the genesis point for modern RTS games. Everything beyond Dune II has borrowed aspects to incorporate into their own design. StarCraft, WarCraft, Dune 2000, Command & Conquer and, God help us, Dogs of War all owe something to Dune II.

Dune II loosely follows the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Those familiar with the book will know the conflict between the Houses of Atreides and Harkonnen over the spice known as "melange" that allows interstellar travel. Those that control the Spice, control the galaxy. The game throws in a third House, the Ordos, for some variety.

The three Houses don’t handle very differently. The only difference is a few of the more powerful units. The Harkonnen’s have a Mammoth Tank that is slow moving but all-powerful. House Atreides can build Sonic Tanks and eventually call on the nomadic Fremen. The Ordos have access to a gas attack that temporarily turns enemy units into friendly units. Each side possesses a balanced array of units and structures. In fact the only thing different are their colours.

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The most important unit is the harvester. The harvester is used to collect the spice and bring it to the refinery where it’s converted to credits that can be used to manufacture military units and structures. And fortunately, as long as you have a refinery, you will always be supplied with them from the home office. The AI is such that you will be using this feature a lot. Harvesters are plain dumb. The narrator intones, "Worm sign," and you’ll immediately scroll to the

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harvester in time to see it get swallowed by a sandworm. It won’t run to solid ground. If it’s being pummeled by enemy fire it won’t retreat. Enemy AI isn’t anything to write home about either. Getting a base established is tough since wave after wave of enemy units march across the sand to wipe you off the face of Dune. But once you’re established it’s just a matter of time till you destroy the enemy base. Defense options are good but it can easily defeat enemy attack. Building walls and turrets to funnel enemy advances make routing an enemy armada a simple task. They won’t even try to blast the walls.

Your structures need constant repair due to the environment on Dune. This is a nice touch but can be frustrating if you don’t regularly check your structures. The enemy will take out a few turrets in three shots then you’ll know you should be looking after your buildings.

Organizing massive coordinated attacks can be troublesome since there is no ability to select and assign groups of units. Each unit must be selected individually then directed to whatever task you desire. This can make for a lot of mouse clicking.

Graphics and sound are good and the cutscenes are solid enough for this type of game. Units and structures are easy to identify. The action all takes place in that ¾ overhead view that is so typical of RTS games of this period. The interface is pretty good, not as streamlined as that of Command & Conquer, but it’s adequate. The toolbar is always present along the right side of the screen, which sometimes provides a feel of claustrophobia when the action gets really intense. It can be difficult to keep track of all your units in some of the later missions since the maps are so large. The music changes just enough to never become tedious and the narrator voice is excellent.

Difficulty is fairly even throughout. The early missions have simple objectives but provide enough challenge to draw novice players into the addictive fun.

Still fun to play after all these years. Just make sure you have an ice pack handy because there’s a whole lotta clickin’ goin’ on.

- Omni


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